Scheduling your cosmetic surgery can be so exciting! The date, time, and place are all planned, but did you ever think about what foods you should be eating to prepare your body for the healing process. Food choices both before and after your procedure are essential to a speedy recovery.
Before Surgery: It is best to eat high quality proteins such as fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and seeds a few week before surgery. This will build up your strength and tissue fibers. Consuming high-fiber foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes; calcium-rich foods such as nuts, fruits, and leafy greens and essential fatty acids such as nuts, seeds, or vegetable oils are also helpful. Certain amino acids seem to help wounds heal faster, so before- and especially after- surgery, make sure your meals and snacks feature brown rice, walnuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds. Vitamin C and zinc also assist your body to heal. A glass of OJ and eating the daily recommended amount of fruit and produce should provide all the vitamin C you need, while a fortified breakfast cereal is an easy way to get zinc.
It is best to avoid dairy products, sweets, fried foods, and cured meats as these are high in saturated fats and can slow the healing process. Lighten your diet a few days before surgery; emphasizing fruits, vegetables, ans liquids to help ease the stress on your digestive system. Also, avoid stimulants such as coffee and alcohol as they can inpair the natural healing process of your bo
After Surgery: Try to eat small, light, low-fat meals throughout the day when recovering from your procedure. Examples being; whole-wheat toast, yogurt, pudding, fruits, soup, and small sandwiches and fortified shakes. If a soft liquid diet is recommended, consider protein and/or nutrient powders, broths, fresh juices, light soups, and pureed fruits or vegetables such as carrots, squash, mashed potatoes, bananas, or applesauce. Protien is particularly important as it will help build your tissues. A protein-rich multivitamin shake may be a good way to start getting more protein after surgery. Constipation is common after surgery due to pain medications, eating fiber can help prevent this from occuring. Good natural sources of fiber include prunes, prune juice, figs, apricots, berries and other fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Aim for at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids a day when recovering from most sugical procedures. This will help prevent dehydration, helps fiber work well, and flushes out the bladder. Also, olive oil is an excellent and natural way to ease inflammatin following surgery.
Try to avoid drinking caffeinated beverages, if you must, do so sparingly. Junk food, and especially foods that contain processed fats such as hydrogenated oils should be elimated from your diet while recovering.
These are some great guidelines to adhere to, however, asking your certified cosmetic surgeon is always best when you have any questions about your cosmetic surgery.
Filler Talk
Have your “fine” lines begun to etch a deeper groove into your skin… not to mention psyche…and starting morphing into (cue sinister music) full blown wrinkles? Lets be Zen about it. Take pride in each furrow as if it represents a hardship overcome. UGH, who are we kidding?? Let’s plump those babies up!
The world of dermal filler these days is wonderful for the patient. Faces can be refreshed with a non surgical treatment like Juvederm XC. It is impossible to make a 50 year old look 20 again, but you can look the best you can for 50.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgery, the safer longer lasting injectable such as the Hyaluronic Acid Juvederm is the number one injectable filler in 2011. Hyaluronic Acid is a naturally occurring molecule much like a sponge- whose primary function is to bind and absorb water which creates volume in the face.
The most common area to treat is smile lines, vertical lip lines, marionette lines (down turned corners of the mouth) and plumping of the lips. Juvederm is manufactured synthetically. No testing is required so there is no risk of having an allergic reaction. Side effects may include itching or redness that may occur at the injection site(s) swelling may last up to 7 days. The basic procedure is to use a topical numbing cream on the skin which is applied to the areas that will be injected. Juvederm XC is infused with lidocaine thus improving comfort during the injection.
So don’t stress about your wrinkles!! (Seriously don’t stress it causes wrinkles) A smoother refreshed look is an injection away. You can experience injectable gel with a quick in-office procedure and minimal down time. The results are immediate. So what are you waiting for? We want to make you “feel beautiful too”
Actual Patients
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The Evolution of "THE BREAST IMPLANT"
It began in the 19th century when a surgeon named Robert Gersuny experimented with paraffin injections, only to stop shortly after when it leaked into other parts of the body. A few years later, the first successful breast implant emplacement occurred when a surgeon harvested a benign lumbar tumor to correct breast asymmetry. Moving on into the first half of the twentieth century, physicians began inserting, wait for it..... glass balls and even wood for breast implants. Yes, you did read that, WOOD! Some even tried ivory, polyurethane, sponges, and ox cartilage. You can guess the results of those attempts. Next, doctors began trying non-surgical solutions for "the search of a bigger bust" with vacuum pumps, suctions devices, a multitude of lotions and potions, and padded or inflatable bras. Now, the padded bra idea has really taken off, Victoria's Secret, a secret no more. Enter PLAYBOY magazine in the 1950s. It was the decade that a whole swathe of cultural influences came together around the idea of a larger breast, with the launch of Barbie and film stars playing a big role as well.
Her name was Timmie Jean Lindsey, mother-of-six, she laid down on the operating table at Jefferson Davis Hospital in Houston, Texas in the spring of 1962. Over the next two hours, she went from a B cup to a C cup, in the first ever augmentation mammoplasty using silicone breast implants performed by Dr.'s Gerwo and Cronin. This operation made history, but at the time no one knew the magnitude of it. Timmie Jean had originally been to the hospital to have a tattoo removed from her breasts, and it was then that the doctors asked if she would consider volunteering for this first-of-its kind operation. At the time, Timmie Jean was more concerned about getting her ears pinned back because they stood out like Dumbo. So the deal was struck, breasts for ears. Following surgery she stated that they "came out just perfect...soft just like real breasts". She didn't get the full results of them until after she went out in public and men on the street would whistle at her. The operation boosted her self-confidence, and she has enjoyed the extra attention. Timmie Jean is now 80 years old and she still has her breast implants, she has a good thing going, why stop just because you are 80?
It has been 50 years since the first breast enlargement using silicone implants. Today it rates as the second-most popular form of cosmetic surgery world wide, having been undergone by 1.5 million women in 2010. It started out somewhat barbaric, and with a little trial and error, but, because of those innovative minds of the past, women today have over 450 choices when it comes to breast implants. Anyone need a consultation?
Danielle
Conkright Aesthetics Derby Party
Conkright Aesthetics is having a Derby Party!
This spring we have decided to have a party like nothing we have ever done before.
Prizes worth $2000!
Wear the biggest and brightest derby hat for the hat contest!
Place your "bets" for who you think will win, place, or show in the 138th Kentucky Derby.
All proceeds benefit the Warrick County Humane Society.
Bring a friend, if you both purchase a product or service you each receive an extra 10% OFF!
This is truly going to be our "Best Party Yet!"
Reserve your spot today, 812-842-0240!
Everything You've Aways Wanted to Know about Botox (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Botox is the most popular cosmetic procedure in the United State, however, it continues to inspire fear and confusion. So, how do you know if it is right for you? That depends on your taste, pocketbook, and tolerance for needles. Here is the 411 on all things Botox, then you can decide for yourself.
What is Botox exactly? Botox is highly purified toxins that can temporarily erase or reduce the horizontal forehead lines, vertical frown lines, and crow's feet. Injections slow muscles that contract hundreds of times a day, that eventually etch lines in the skin, a.k.a. wrinkles.
Can Botox make you look 'frozen" or have a numb feeling? It will not affect the nerves that cause sensation, or make your feel numb. When used correctly, it can lift the brow to give an appealing and sincere look. But, beware, if too much is injected you can look "Spocked". That is why it is so very important to be treated by and experience injector who can judge the size of your muscles and how much Botox you will need.
Pain. Does Botox hurt? Botox is like any other injection with a needle. Yes, it can be slightly painful, especially between the eyebrows. But, luckily some injectors numb the area with topical anesthetic or apply ice before hand.
Side Effects. Every drug has side effects, and Botox is no exception. Luckily, they tend to be minor and short-lived. In one to five percent of cases, there can be a mild droopiness of the eyelid or eyebrow. This usually goes away within two weeks, and if you are taking medications that contain aspirin or NSAIDs can develop pinpoint blue bruising.
$$$. Prices for Botox vary widely, based on the amount you will need, and how much the office is charging. The average cost is $400 per treatment. The toxins come dehydrated and must be reconstituted, so some offices reportedly over-dilute, or simply don't use enough. The quality of the results always depends on who is on the other end of the needle.
What is the ideal age to start using Botox? You don't need it before you have wrinkles to hide. Other than that, a patient can have Botox safely whenever they are bothered by their wrinkles. No issues arise with long term use. Many people who have used Botox repeatedly for over 20 years are without side effects.
How long does Botox last? Good results usually last three to four months, but this varies from person to person.
Will anyone know I have Botox? Yes and no. Good results leave you looking refreshed, more cheerful, and perhaps younger. Badly done Botox has telltale signs. A smooth and shiny forhead, or a forehead and crow's-feet that don't move when you laugh or cry.
The day after. What can you expect? Not much really, results will begin to show in a couple of days and will develop gradually over the course of two weeks.
Well, that is it. I hope I have helped. Botox is a great cosmetic when used properly. If you feel that this is something you would like to try, call our office, we would love to make you feel beautiful too!
Danielle Blevins
Gummy Bear Implants: The Next Breast Thing
They're not even on the market yet in the United States, but the gummy bear breast implants are already being touted by some as the next "wave" in breast augmentation.
In clinical trials in the U.S. for the last decade. The highly cohesive gel, formstable (a.ka. "gummy bear'), breast implants are available just about everywhere else. They combine the safety of saline breast implants with the natural feel of silicone breast implants. Silicone is a naturally occurring element found in sand, quartz, and rock that can be manufactured in the form of oils, gels, and solids.
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration cleared new Sientra Inc.'s silicone breast implants for use in the U.S. This adds another competitor to versions of the product already offered by Allergan Inc. (AGN) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) unit Mentor Worldwide, LLC. It is exciting to have another brand of implants available on the market to choose from! Competition is a good thing.
Invented in the 1990's and widely used throughout the world since 2000, highly cohesive gel implants are manufactured by all three implant companies. Allergan's 410, Mentor's CPG and Sientra's Nuance and Enhance. Highly cohesive gel implants take the concept of a silicone implant a step further. They're manufactured as a solid mass of silicone gel that's created by adding a cross-linker to the liquid gel to produce a tighter molecular bond. The result is similar in consistency and feels like the small rubbery-textured, gelatin-based gummy bear candies, hence the nickname. Cut a wedge out of a cohesive gel implant and it will maintain its shape, which is why these devices are described as being more "form stable".
These implants feel soft and supple, maintain their shape well, display no visible implant line (rippling or folds), will not leak and pose less risk of capsular contracture. On the down side they are are so form stable they impart their shape on the breast (tear drop shape), it requires a larger incision, if the pocket is too loose it could rotate and make the breast look distorted, and are currently more expensive than other gel or saline implants.
The real test of marketing for a new breast implant is the history. After the first ten or twenty thousand patients have had them placed and five to ten years have passed. So new implant products are in a gray zone.
Thousands of women annually choose to have breast augmentation, some saline, some silicone. Breast implants are the most studied of all medical devices. Gummy Bear or not, breast augmentation is the number one cosmetic surgery in the United States. The quest continues for the perfect device!
